AB 1946 — Reporting mechanism: child sexual abuse material.

Summary

Existing law requires a social media platform to take certain actions with respect to child sexual abuse material on the social media platform, including requiring the platform to provide, in a mechanism that is reasonably accessible to users, a means for a user who is a California resident to report material to the platform that the user reasonably believes meets certain criteria, including that the reported material is child sexual abuse material and that the reporting user is depicted in the material. Existing law also requires the social media platform to collect information reasonably sufficient to enable the platform to contact, as specified, a reporting user. Existing law defines child sexual abuse material for these purposes to include obscene matter that depicts a minor personally engaging in, or personally simulating, sexual conduct. This bill would revise the definition of child sexual abuse material to instead include an intimate visual depiction, as defined, of an identifiable individual who is a minor. The bill would additionally require the above-described mechanism to be clear and conspicuous, as defined, and would delete the requirement that the reporting user be depicted in the material. The bill would require a social media platform to, among other things, ensure review by a natural person if there is not an established or known hash match to child sexual abuse material with respect to the reported material and the reported material is not otherwise blocked. The bill would require a social media platform to restore availability or functionality of the reporting mechanism if the reporting mechanism is unavailable or nonfunctional. Existing law makes a noncomplying social media company liable to a reporting user for actual damages and statutory damages, as specified. This bill would instead make a social media company liable to a depicted individual, as defined, for actual and statutory damages, as provided. The bill would also impose specified civil penalties on a noncomplying company to be collected in a civil action by certain public attorneys, including the Attorney General. Existing law establishes the Survivor Support Fund within the state treasury and makes moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for grants by the California Victim Compensation Board to community-based organizations that provide direct services to vulnerable individuals in areas with a high concentration of sex trafficking. This bill would require any penalty collected in a civil action by the Attorney General under these provisions to be deposited into the Survivor Support Fund. Existing law prohibits a social media platform from knowingly facilitating, aiding, or abetting commercial sexual exploitation, as defined. Existing law deems a social media platform to have knowledge for the purposes of this prohibition if material was reported to the social media platform using the reporting mechanism for 4 consecutive months, as provided. Existing law exempts a social media platform from being deemed in violation of this prohibition if it instituted a specified audit program and provided to each member of its board of directors a true and correct copy of each audit, as prescribed. This bill would remove the requirement that material was reported for 4 consecutive months to deem a social media platform to have knowledge for the purposes of the above-described prohibition. The bill would, in order to be exempt from that prohibition, require the social media platform to also submit the audit to the Attorney General, and if requested, to certain other public officials. The bill would provide that an audit submitted as described above is confidential and shall be exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act. This bill would declare its provisions severable. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Bill Text

• Chaptered 09/10/26 - Chaptered html September 10, 2026
• Amended 08/21/26 - Amended Senate html August 21, 2026
• Amended 07/02/26 - Amended Senate Current pdf July 02, 2026
• Amended 05/21/26 - Amended Assembly pdf May 21, 2026
• Amended 05/18/26 - Amended Assembly pdf May 18, 2026
• Amended 04/27/26 - Amended Assembly pdf April 27, 2026
• Amended 04/06/26 - Amended Assembly pdf April 06, 2026
• Amended 03/19/26 - Amended Assembly pdf March 19, 2026
• Introduced 02/13/26 - Introduced pdf February 13, 2026
• AB1946 View text html

Action History

1. September 10, 2026

   Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 185, Statutes of 2026.

2. September 10, 2026

   Approved by the Governor.

3. September 03, 2026

   Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

4. August 26, 2026

   In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

5. August 26, 2026

   Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0.).

6. August 26, 2026

   Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.).

7. August 24, 2026

   Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

8. August 21, 2026

   Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

9. August 13, 2026

   Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

10. August 13, 2026

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 13).

11. August 03, 2026

    In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

12. July 02, 2026

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

13. July 02, 2026

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 30).

14. June 29, 2026

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (June 29). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

15. June 22, 2026

    In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

16. June 12, 2026

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

17. June 03, 2026

    Referred to Coms. on P., D.T., & C.P. and JUD.

18. May 27, 2026

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

19. May 26, 2026

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 75. Noes 0.)

20. May 21, 2026

    Read third time and amended. Ordered to third reading. (Page 5242.)

21. May 19, 2026

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

22. May 18, 2026

    Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

23. May 14, 2026

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (May 14).

24. May 06, 2026

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

25. April 28, 2026

    Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

26. April 27, 2026

    Read second time and amended.

27. April 23, 2026

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (April 21).

28. April 16, 2026

    Coauthors revised.

29. April 16, 2026

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 14. Noes 1.) (April 16). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

30. April 07, 2026

    Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.

31. April 06, 2026

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. Read second time and amended.

32. March 23, 2026

    Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.

33. March 19, 2026

    Referred to Coms. on P. & C.P. and JUD.

34. March 19, 2026

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. Read second time and amended.

35. February 14, 2026

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 16.

36. February 13, 2026

    Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

• Maggy Krell · Cosponsor
• Buffy Wicks · Primary

Votes

Subjects